Ancient Egyptian scribes suffered injuries 'similar to modern office workers'

Examination of skeletons shows impact of spending a long time sitting with the head bent down

An Egyptian scribe and his pupil, circa 1650. Getty Images

Ancient scribes may have suffered from the same type of repetitive strain injuries seen in the modern workplace, a new study suggests.

Scribes held high status in ancient Egyptian society at a time when less than half of people were able to read or write.

The role was vital to the operation of the state, overseeing a wide range of administrative tasks.

Researchers wanted to know what impact sitting or standing for long periods had on their health, so they examined the skeletal remains of 69 men, 30 of whom worked as scribes, to compare the two groups. They discovered changes more common among scribes than other professions.

Petra Brukner Havelkova of the Prague National Museum's department of anthropology, told The National that Egyptian scribes typically experienced greater degeneration of their joints and spine.

“Most often they had extremely overloaded temporomandibular joint, cervical spine, shoulder, thumb of the right hand and right knee,” she said.

“There was also evidence of more frequent changes in the muscle and ligamental attachment sites of the humerus and left hip, as well as a higher incidence of the squatting facet of the right ankle caused by remaining in a squatting position.”

She said genetics and hormones probably played a part, but mechanical causes, such as spending a long time sitting with the head bent down, were also a factor – resulting in the same type of injuries seen in office workers.

“Like scribes, for example, their cervical spine overloading is closely related to a forward head posture with a flexed neck, which is a position characteristic of many modern occupations, I would say most,” she said.

A 16-metre long papyrus written in hieratic script which was found in Saqqara in May 2022, displayed at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, Cairo. EPA

And the osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint or rotator cuff seen in scribes can be found in people who have to hold their arm up for extended periods, like painters. But it can also be related to a static sitting position with unsupported arms, such as typing.

Even though a job is not physically demanding, repetitive tasks and positions can affect your muscles and skeleton, Ms Havelkova said.

“They have to compensate for positions that are not natural,” she added.

“In terms of occupational risk factors, it makes little difference whether you were a scribe in ancient Egypt or today.

“It's only now that we have ergonomic knowledge that tries to eliminate these risk factors as much as possible.”